Let's Be Friends
by Teh Trickster
Summary: Yuki watches over Yori while she is recovering from an illness, and reflects on the nature of their friendship.


Hi peeps, and welcome to my story! While working on my Hana Yori Dango story, I was looking through my documents folder, and I came across this story, which I seem to have written... I think at least a year back, before I went on my fanfiction hiatus and had forgotten to upload. At that point in time, I had been rather interested in Vampire Knight, though I admit that I lost interest after the fifth volume, so I never completed reading the manga. I do know how it ended though, and maybe, if I do have the time, I might go back to finishing it.

But in the meantime, I thought I might as well post this story. It's basically a friendship story between Yuki and Yori, whom if I remembered correctly, were best friends. I don't think it's very outdated though, because friendship is a universal theme, and while this takes place early on in the manga, I feel that it still can be read and appreciated even after the completion of the manga.

I do hope you guys like this, and if there is any way I can improve on this story, please let me know. I really appreciate any reviews I get, because it is from these reviews that I learn from my mistakes.

Thank you in advance, and have a lovely day ahead!

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**Let's Be Friends**

Yuki pushed open the door to the sick bay and stepped in, closing the door silently behind her. She heaved a sigh of relief; Yori had not woken up, even when the door creaked. She must really be fast asleep. She tiptoed towards an armchair and sat down on it, careful to move slowly so as to make as little noise as possible. Gently, she reached out and felt Yori's forehead. At least, her temperature had gone down a little. Her cheeks were still flushed and felt hot though, but at least; she seemed slightly better than the last time she came in.

She noticed that the glass on the bedside table was empty, so she got up and filled it three quarters full from the hot-water kettle in the corner of the room. The pills were gone as well, and she made her way towards the medicine cupboard and shook out three more, placing them next to the glass of water. She was amazed that she had managed not to wake Yori up; she was normally so clumsy, tripping over almost everything in sight and having to have Yori and Zero-kun to pull her up.

She reached across and felt Yori's forehead again. She seemed no better. Yuki frowned and bit at a thumbnail, then got up and immersed a cloth in cold water from the nearby sink, folding it and placing it on Yori's forehead. She smiled a little as Yori heaved a small sigh and the little cleft between her nose and eyes seemed to straighten slightly.

Once this was done, she settled back onto her armchair and waited.

There had been a strain of flu passing through the ranks of Cross Academy the past few days, and though at least fewer pupils were falling sick as the days passed, it had been quite bad during the first few days. At least half the school had somehow disappeared, either they were too sick to attend lessons, or their parents had taken them away because they did not want their children to contract the illness. She could not blame them, the illness certainly looked painful to contact, and it was highly contagious, as evident from the number of people who ended up contacting it everyday.

Then, Yori fell ill. This was surprising, because normally, Yori was very healthy, she enjoyed her sports and games. She was always one of the first out on the field during games, and she would ultimately affect Yuki herself with her enthusiasm. Yuki herself felt sleepy at times due to lack of sleep, yet it would be Yori who would drag her out onto the field for either horse-riding or ultimate Frisbee, and after a rousing game, Yuki would feel more awake, due to the fun and exercise, as well as the crisp morning air. She and Yori would always be on the same team, the teachers and students alike knew better than to separate them.

However, during the last games lesson they had together, Yuki noticed that Yori looked pale, and her nose was red. She would cough and sneeze frequently. Yuki was worried of course, she insisted that Yori sit out, but Yori insisted on joining in. Yori was sure that a little morning air would do them both good, since Yuki herself did not look very awake. She had been sure that both of them would feel better after a game or two.

Yet, while they were running around the school field, Yori suddenly collapsed. By the time Yuki reached her, she was unconscious. Zero-kun had to carry her to the sick bay, while Yuki was given permission to go with them. Until now, she had no idea how she had managed to convince her games teacher to let her go. Probably, her own worry had been showing on her face. She did know though, that she had almost been in tears. She was glad that she was there though; the school nurse had sent her up to Yori's room to collect her nightclothes, bedroom slippers and toiletries. She also included a few books that Yori could read to pass the time, when she felt much better.

She was thankful that it was just the flu and not something more serious, when she heard the school physician's diagnosis. Her overwrought mind had been thinking up increasingly worse scenarios as the minutes ticked by, until she had been sure that Yori was going to die. She flushed with embarrassment, if Yori ever found out about this, she was sure to laugh. Once again, her overactive imagination had only served to make her even more upset than ever.

Yori shifted in her sleep again, and Yuki quickly focused her attention on her. She was supposed to be watching Yori after all, to make sure that she did not get any worse. She did not really have to, the school nurse would probably be watching her, but she wanted to make sure that she was there if Yori woke up and needed her. Yori had always been there for her, and she wanted to take this chance to repay the favor. She wanted to be a friend, not just have a friend.

Watching Yori sleep, Yuki was reminded of the time when they first met. She and Yori had entered the school at about the same time, and were put together as roommates. At that point in time, she had just been appointed student councilor along with her childhood friend, Zero, by her foster father. Her foster father was the headmaster of the school, and he had a mission in mind, a mission so secret that he could only trust both her and Zero because he had known them long enough. He could depend on them to carry it out, since he knew that Yuki agreed with him on this, due to her experience with Kaname. If he had not been her father, Yuki was sure that she would not have been chosen, since she was too clumsy and was already not doing well in school. She knew that the other students were wondering why she had been chosen, especially her dorm leader and class president.

She was busy enough with her new duties, or rather, trying to get used to her new duties, that she had not even bothered to get to know Yori. She knew Yori was a friendly girl, and that she was someone she could sit with in class and to keep her company in group work, but she had not bothered to get to know the girl's background, or her interests and personality. She was always too busy thinking of and doing other things, and sometimes being too tired to even think of anything.

Yet, she noticed that Yori always seemed to be there. She was always with her, not really speaking, sometimes making a joke or two, or helping her with schoolwork. Even though she knew that she was not as close a friend to Yori as much as she liked to be, yet, Yori always remained by her side. She could not help wondering why, she knew that there were other girls that Yori could have made friends with, yet she chose Yuki.

By doing this, she knew that Yori was making herself even more unpopular with the day class girls by spending time with her. She, as a student councilor, was in charge of keeping the day class students away from the night class students. She ended up being unpopular because of this as the day class students, the girls especially, found the night class boys breathtakingly beautiful at times, with their fairness, and almost inhuman aura. Of course, they would dislike anyone who came between them and their association with the night class, and in particular, this clumsy girl who could not even do her lessons right. They probably saw Yori as trying to curry favour with her, getting close to her so that she could get close to the night class. She had overheard the day students talking about that fact, even Yori heard it, but she seemed unperturbed. She simply rolled her eyes and smiled at Yuki.

It was then that she realised that Yori did not even care about the impressions other people had on her. She admired Yori for this; it seemed almost impossible for she herself not to care about other people, not to be hurt when others made their cutting comments about her unpopularity or inadequacy. Thankfully, they seemed to be decreasing, but they used to be quite a lot, especially in the initial days when she was just starting out as student councilor. She admired Yori for her self-control, even if she was affected by the comments of fellow students, she chose not to show it. In fact, she still continued to do what she thought best.

Moreover, she was incredibly perceptive of Yuki's feelings. If Yuki was feeling particularly alone that day, she would always materialize by her side, keeping her company. Even though she never asked Yuki about what was bothering her, she still chose to stay by her side. Even if they never talked, Yuki never felt alone around her, simply because she was always there with her comforting presence. She had already lost count of how many times Yori was by her side, and sometimes, she could not help admitting to herself that she was taking Yori for granted, taking, and not really giving in return. Yet, Yori never seemed to mind. She simply remained there.

Once, Yuki had asked her why she never seemed to ask about her problems, Yori had simply responded, "I don't like to ask you questions that you're not ready to answer. If you are willing to talk about it, then of course, I would listen." It was then that she realised that she need not be alone anymore; she would always have someone to listen to her, and give her the needed space to make her own decisions. Yori was a rare find, how many people out there were like her? She was so lucky to have Yori as a friend, a best friend, and she did not even have to do anything in return, though she fretted over that last fact, wanting to be as good a friend to Yori as Yori was to her.

Yet, there were still some things that Yuki just simply could not tell Yori. She could not tell her about the night class students being vampires, she could not tell her about her feelings of confusion between Zero and Kaname. She did not want to involve Yori in the struggle because she wanted to keep Yori safe. The moment she told Yori about everything, Yori would worry her head off about her being in danger all the time, and she really did not want Yori's friendship with her to be a burden to Yori. Better that Yori did not know, what she did not know would not hurt her.

Yet, one of these days, perhaps, she would tell Yori. Yori had the right to know, especially if her own life was being endangered. Just not now though, now was not the right time. Especially not this minute, when she was sick.

Suddenly, Yuki jerked up, her eyes springing opening. She could not believe it; she had actually fallen asleep, right when she was supposed to be watching Yori! She glanced at her watch and saw to her horror that she had dozed off for two hours, it was such a long time, and Yori may have woken up during that time that she was asleep! She glanced down and saw that she was covered in a blanket, and one of the other beds was devoid of that same blanket. Yori had also changed her position, she was now facing her, snuggled deeper into the blankets; she noticed that Yori's bed sheets were slightly rumpled . . . her bedroom slippers were also on the other side of the bed, nearer to Yuki's side than to her own bed.

Her eyes felt hot, and involuntarily, she smiled. Her heart felt so warm, it felt like it was going to burst any minute. What on earth had she done to deserve such a wonderful friend? Yori did not have to speak in words, already she comforted with her actions. She felt so undeserving of such a wonderful friend, that she simply could not sit still and do nothing about it.

Getting up, she lifted the chair and pushed it directly to Yori's bedside. Then, she sat on it and took Yori's hot, clammy hand in hers. If Yori should wake up again, she would wake up as well, and Yori would be comforted, knowing that she would not be facing this alone. The same way that she herself comforted Yuki numerous times simply by her presence, and her way of showing that she cared.


End file.
